Embrace the Night Read online

  Books by Crystal Jordan

  CARNAL DESIRES

  ON THE PROWL

  UNTAMED

  PRIMAL HEAT

  EMBRACE THE NIGHT

  SEXY BEAST V

  (with Kate Douglas and Vonna Harper)

  SEXY BEAST 9

  (with Vonna Harper and Lisa Renee Jones)

  UNDER THE COVERS

  (with Lorie O’Clare and P.J. Mellor)

  Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

  EMBRACE THE NIGHT

  CRYSTAL JORDAN

  APHRODISIA

  KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  Books by Crystal Jordan

  Title Page

  Acknowledgments

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  Copyright Page

  Acknowledgments

  This book is special. No, really. It is. This is the first book I ever started to write, quite a few years ago. At the time, it was a comedy. At the time, I had no idea what I was doing when it came to writing a story. I labored through many, many drafts of this book, and finally realized I didn’t have the chops to do the characters justice. Frustrated, I put it aside and thought I’d never come back to it.

  But this book is special. These characters are special. Merek and Chloe and Alex wouldn’t stop popping up in the back of my mind, reminding me that their story was still untold.

  So, I dragged it out one day and dusted it off. I started reading, and it was even more awful than I remembered. I had to scrap everything, except the characters and the basic bones of the story. It went from comedy to dark and sexy. And my editor, John Scognamiglio, was his usual awesome self, bought the book, and gave these characters a chance to have their story finished. Finally.

  There are so many others who have helped me get where I am with my writing, and helped me get this book to where it is. This acknowledgments page wouldn’t be doing what it’s supposed to if I didn’t give them a nod for all they’ve done for me.

  There is my best friend, Michal, and my boyfriend, Frank. My two favorite partners in crime. Then there are the other authors who’ve prodded, cajoled, encouraged, or otherwise kicked my ass into meeting my deadlines: Kate Pearce, Loribelle Hunt, Dayna Hart, R. G. Alexander, Eden Bradley, Karen Erickson, Robin L. Rotham, Patti O’Shea, Rhiannon Leith, Elaina Huntley, Lilli Feisty, and Gemma Halliday. And, of course, my Grams.

  Thank you all for being part of this story with me. My story as a writer.

  1

  Gods, but she needed this.

  Chloe’s body arched beneath the heavy, muscular form of the most talented warlock she’d ever fucked. And he wasn’t even inside her yet.

  A low moan slipped from her throat when Merek’s hands closed over her breasts. His thumbs chafed her nipples, and a little smile kicked up the side of his full lips and crinkled the corners of his gray eyes as he watched the tips of her breasts tighten for him. Little bolts of lightning flickered around the warlock’s hands and up his forearms. The shocks hit her flesh, sizzling her nerve endings. She jolted, but a flood of moisture slicked her pussy. More. Gods, she craved more.

  Sinking one hand into his dark blond hair, she urged his head down. A chuckle rumbled from his chest while he obliged her. His hot tongue swirled around each nipple in turn, sucking them deep into his mouth. When that same electrical current pulsed from his tongue to her breast, she writhed helplessly, a scream ripping from her.

  “You like that, don’t you, Chloe?” He glanced up at her, his gaze gleaming with silver light. His teeth scraped over her nipple when she didn’t answer. She jerked against his hold on her, her thoughts scattering into incoherency. “Don’t you, sweetheart?”

  “Y-yes, Merek.” A shiver rippled over her skin as his tongue soothed the sting his teeth had left. “Oh, gods, yes. I like it.”

  Her nails scored his back, raking down his flesh. He shuddered over her, groaning. His hips bucked against hers. She could feel his long, hard cock sliding over her naked flesh. His dick was already damp with pre-cum, but he didn’t try to enter her. She wanted him deep inside her. Now.

  Parting her thighs, she wrapped her legs around his flanks and lifted herself into him, rubbing the lips of her wet pussy on his cock. His white teeth flashed in a pirate’s grin, his gaze heavy-lidded. She arched her body into him, enjoying the pleasure that flashed in his gaze as she watched him watch her twist on his sheets, the fabric warm and smooth against her back. He angled his hips and ground himself against her clit, but still didn’t slide that long cock into her. Instead, he eased his weight away from her a bit.

  “No, don’t go,” she whispered, shoving her fingers into his silky hair and dragging him back down to her breast. Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears, it drowned out the ragged sound of their breathing.

  He batted at her nipple with his tongue, shoving the tight tip against the roof of his mouth. Her nails dug into his scalp, and he grunted, biting down on the beaded crest in retaliation. Her breath froze in her lungs, her body jerking under the lash of too many sensations overloading every nerve at once. “Merek. Merek, please!”

  He released her breast, blowing a cool stream of air onto her damp flesh. “I like it when you beg.”

  It felt so fucking good, she thought she might die. Still, she needed more. She needed to lose herself in the scorching heat of this moment with this man. “P-please.”

  Those tiny sparks of lightning arced from his fingertips as he stroked them down her ribs, her stomach, and into the thatch of hair between her legs. The first touch of his hand on her clit made her sob with need. Excitement twisted like a wild thing inside her, and she had to grit her teeth to keep from screaming again when his callused finger penetrated her sex. He flicked his digits over her slick folds, diving into her soaking pussy. He hummed low in his throat. “So wet for me. I’m going to love fucking your tight little pussy.”

  “Yes. I want that.” Her head rolled on the pillow, sweat gathering at her temples to slip down her skin as her muscles shook in reaction to all he was doing to her, in anticipation of all he would do to her. “Hurry.”

  “Not just yet.” The pad of his thumb stroked her clit in time with his plunging digits. He worked her at a fast, punishing rhythm that made her twist in his embrace, a low keen of need spilling from her lips. She was so close, her inner muscles clenching on his fingers with every hard push into her body, tingles skipping and racing down her skin, but she knew he wouldn’t let her go over the edge into orgasm until he decided. He was the master of this game, of that she had no doubt. The mere thought made her burn. It was exactly why she’d picked him for the night.

  She sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but it only drew in the heady smell of sex and the rich, masculine scent of him. Heat and magic flared deep within her, spells she was barely conscious of casting. If he was going to drive her crazy with lust, then turnabout was fair play.

  Golden light poured from her fingers as she slid them down his skin, over the flexing muscles of his chest, his arms. He went still, a great shudder racking his big body as the spell worked on him, transferring her searing pleasure to him. It would feel like flames were licking at his flesh. He groaned, and she watched his control strip away—just as she had wanted. A tiny smile curved her mouth.

  “Such a talented little witch.” He part
ed the lips of her sex with one hand and guided his cock to her entrance with the other. A hard thrust drove him hilt-deep into her, and she choked at the exquisite stretch. Gods, he was so big it was painful to take all of him, but she didn’t care. She wanted this too badly to stop now. She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes to savor the sensation.

  “Mmm. I think that’s my job.” His tongue slid along her lower lip, sucking it into his mouth. The feel of his hard cock within her, the pleasure-pain of his thick shaft stretching her, almost made the gentle sweetness of his kiss overwhelm her. The man could kiss, his taste honey-spiced. He was already inside her, and his lips and teeth and tongue seduced her, coaxed her into an even wilder response, made her grow even wetter, her nipples bead tighter, her nails dig into his back as she slanted her mouth under his. His hands cupped her breasts, his fingers rubbing her nipples. She moaned against his lips.

  Undulating her hips beneath him, she wrapped her legs tighter around his waist and broke the kiss, gasping at each hot plunge of his flesh into hers. Her eyes pinched closed as she dragged in the musky scent of sex and man. “This feels so . . .”

  “Fucking good,” he finished for her. His hands moved to close around her knees, pulling her legs farther apart to allow him to drive as deep as possible. His thrusts were hard, but too slow to shove her over the edge.

  Shivers raced over her skin, every muscle in her body trembling with insipient need, with dark, unspeakable magic. It pulsed from her to him in sharp stabs of lust, making them both groan. “Hurry, Merek.”

  “And end this so soon? No way in hell.” But his hands gripped her hips tightly enough to leave bruises, his fingers sending waves of that same overwhelming power, silver lightning flashing between them to sting her flesh. It was too much and not enough all at once. A spasm clenched her sex, and she cried out at the sensation. He gritted his teeth over a harsh sound of need.

  Squeezing his cock with her inner walls, she tried to increase that consuming ecstasy. He groaned, his thrusts picking up speed and force, just the way she wanted. Her nails sank into the heavy muscles of his chest, and she tugged at the light smattering of curls there. “That’s perfect, Merek. Just like that. You feel so good inside me.”

  “Gods, Chloe.” Those gray eyes closed, and he swallowed hard. His breathing was nothing more than ragged panting, his powerful body arching between her thighs as he pushed them both to the edge of sanity.

  They moved together seamlessly, magic building around them, flowing through them as their power cycled back and forth, feeding the need. The raw, stark sensuality of it shook her from deep within. It was perfect, just as she said. Too perfect. Shuddering away from that thought, she focused on the physical, carnal reality of sex. The scent of him, the feel of his flexing muscles against her skin, the creak of the mattress beneath them, the gasps of air that escaped their lungs as they moved faster and faster. The fire and magic that heated her blood, made her heart pound until she could feel nothing else, think of nothing else.

  “Oh, gods, yes.” She clenched her jaw to hold off the orgasm building within her. As much as she wanted it, she also wanted to savor every second of this experience.

  He chuckled, the sound rough with unspent lust. Slipping his hand between them, he rubbed his knuckle over her swollen clit and took the choice to linger away from her. “Come for me.”

  “Merek!” She shattered, her body bowing in a tight arc, and she lifted him with her as she convulsed around his cock. Her pussy gripped him tight, relaxed, and gripped again, milking him until she was sobbing with the force of it and he was groaning with his own orgasm. He slammed deep, shuddering over her as he came, his fierce expression emptying as he collapsed on top of her.

  Slowly, she went limp, utter contentment sapping her will to move. His weight crushed her into the mattress, and she ran a hand down his sweat-dampened side before letting it drop. With a soft groan and a final thrust of his still semihard erection inside her, he managed to leverage himself off of her and onto the bed next to her. He hooked an arm around her waist and dragged her up against him, running his palm down her body, cupping her breast, tweaking her nipple, swirling a finger around her navel, and finally slipping between her legs to settle over her sensitized clit.

  A low moan tore from her throat, shivers raising goose bumps on her flesh. She’d been so right. This was exactly what she’d needed. For one night, she’d needed to forget everyone and everything in her life and just feel. She’d needed to be touched, to have a man’s hands slide over her skin.

  She’d needed to be fucked.

  “Mmmph.” Something heavy landed on Chloe’s stomach, jerking her out of the erotic dream, the erotic memory. Her heart thundered, sweat slid down her face, and her lungs heaved in a desperate bid for air. Icy fear and hot lust warred for dominance inside her as the fantasy gave way to reality. She shuddered, her fingers balling in soft cotton sheets. Her familiar’s eyes glowed in the low lighting of the lamp she’d left on, a freakish little alien head peering down at her. Ophelia blinked, her whiskers twitching. Chloe groaned, shoved the Siamese cat off her belly, and flopped over to bury her face in the pillow. “Gods.”

  How many times was she going to have that dream? How often did she have to relive that wild night? It had happened two months ago, and hardly a night had passed that she hadn’t had the dream.

  Maybe she just needed to get laid. Get that night out of her system. She moaned into her pillow, squeezing her thighs together as a lingering throb of desire went through her. That was how she’d ended up having that night in the first place, by telling herself she needed to get laid, to get her cheating ex out of her system.

  That had gone so well for her.

  She’d gone out to Sanguine, her favorite Magickals-only private club, scoped out every species of hotty the Magickal community had to offer—elves, Fae, vampires, werewolves, warlocks. She had mentally debated the sexual gifts each species could bring to the table—bedroom, whatever—and then she’d seen him. After that, there’d been no contest. Chemistry was a bitch like that. She would know—she was a biochemist.

  Sighing, she rolled over, kicked the sheet off of her, and forked her hands through her sweaty hair. Her body still burned, her sex aching with a need to be filled with more than just her vibrator. “Damn it.”

  Dwelling on her lack of a love life since her one-night stand wouldn’t help her. And thinking about Damien-Raines-the scum-sucking-vampire who’d left her for a she-vamp he’d knocked up, which was where her shame spiral had started, wouldn’t help her disposition at all. However, the fact that his ferret familiar was probably still hexed into an ugly lampshade made her lips quirk. Vampires sucked at casting spells. Damien had just sucked, period. Too bad it had taken her so long to figure that out.

  She heaved herself out of bed and played soccer with Ophelia’s sinuous body as she tried to twine herself around Chloe’s legs while she walked. Tripping, she hit the swinging door to the kitchen and almost face-planted into the floor. “Damn it, Ophelia.”

  The cat sniffed, leaped up onto the counter, and flicked a delicate paw at her food bowl in an unmistakable feline demand. Chloe rolled her eyes and grumbled all the way to the cabinet that contained the outrageously expensive cat cuisine her familiar liked. Dumping the contents into the food dish, Chloe went about retrieving her own sustenance while the cat dug in.

  Thirty seconds later, she had a steaming mug of coffee cradled between her palms. The first sip made her moan. “Ahhh.”

  Bless the Normal human who’d invented the automatic coffeemaker. Magic did some awesome things, but sometimes Normal technology trumped all. She leaned against her counter and gazed out her kitchen window at the morning mist shrouding her Queen Anne Hill neighborhood and drifting out into downtown Seattle. The city lights were a pretty haze that streaked the skyline. Sunbeams began to pierce the fog, so she knew it would be a rare sunny day in the Emerald City. Yesterday had been wicked hot, too, but Chloe loved the brightness. Sh
e’d have to remember to go for a walk during lunch today.

  Bon Jovi’s “Bad Medicine” blared from her cell phone, jolting her from her reverie, and she jogged into her living room to grab it from the charger. Her best friend Tess’s name popped up on the caller ID. Grinning, Chloe punched the button to answer. “Dr. Jones, I presume. What are you doing up at the ass crack of dawn this morning?”

  “Still haven’t slept from last night.” A huge yawn fuzzed the phone line. “We’re short-staffed so I pulled a double. Budget cuts.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Tell me about it.” Tess worked as a pathologist for the FBI. The Normal side of the FBI. She was one of the most Normal humans Chloe had ever met. “I haven’t put in hours this awful since my residency.”

  Along with werewolf Jaya Nemov, they’d become friends in med school, which was the only reason Chloe and Jaya had gotten close to anyone outside the Magickal community. Most Magickals didn’t bother because it was just too hard to keep people in their lives who they had to constantly lie to about what they were.

  Chloe knew she should probably ease out of her relationship with Tess, but when Jaya had died during a full moon Change, it emphasized to Chloe that a good friend was hard to come by, magic or no magic. Tess might never know the truth behind Jaya’s death, but she’d still shared the loss of someone they both loved. So, Chloe kept her friend and did what she had to do to keep her secrets.

  Then again, a part of her had always wondered if the reason she held on to Tess was because her long-dead mother had been a Normal. She grinned, and it wasn’t nice. Her family was almost as horrified that she had befriended a Normal as they had been when her father had married one and bred a halfling.

  Another yawn sounded through the phone, recapturing Chloe’s attention. Her grin softened, and she cradled the phone closer to her ear. “So, you’re calling because . . . you want to get together for dinner tonight and tell me more about the suckfest of budget cuts?”